/ MAY 1 1899 



Cbtistian Bbucation 

XmnQli 



SECOND GOFV. 
It99. 



MAY 9 -lags 



Clje 

(If^risttan (£5ucatton of youti) 

By Ulriclj gtDtngli 

TRANSLATED FROM A REPRINT OF THE 
ORIGINAI, SWISS EDITION OF 1 526 



BY AI^CIDE REICHENBACH, A. M. 

PROFESSOR OF MODERN I.ANGUAGES IN URSINUS 
COI.I.EGE 



WITH A BRIEF SKETCH OF ZWINGLl'S EDUCATIONAI. 
CAREER, BY THE SAME AUTHOR 



"Parents ought therefore to bestow great care on the right 
education of their children." — Zwingli. 



COLLEGEVILLE, PA. 

THOMPSON BROTHERS 

1899 



5uG55 



COPYRIGHT 1899, 
BY AI.CIDE REICHENBACH. 

TWO COP IP f? P^C-is/Pn 









/ 



/^zt 



/fa 



DEDICATED 
TO THE 
FRIENDS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. 




ULRICH ZWINGLI. 



PREFACE. 

Ulrich Zwingli is well known as a re- 
former and theologian of the sixteenth 
century, but he is not so well known as 
an educator. Readers who have access 
to Zwingli's complete works and have 
time to collect from them what belongs 
to his educational career, will feel re- 
warded for the time spent in such work ; 
but most persons interested in Zwingli 
have no time for research of this kind, 
and all such will be glad to read this lit- 
tle book. 

As a matter of fact, the educational 
side of some religious leaders has not 
been presented in the history of educa- 
tion, fully enough to do them justice. 
The religious activity of these men in- 
volves an educational activity which, 
in many cases, is truly remarkable. 

Several years ago, we read a reprint of 
Zwingli's educational treatise in the orig- 



inal dialect of Zurich. The peculiar 
charm of this dialect and the interest in 
the subject treated by Zwingli induced 
us to translate the treatise for our own 
satisfaction. Having been repeatedly 
advised to have this translation published, 
we finally proceeded to revise it for pub- 
lication, and to write, also, as an intro- 
duction to it, a sketch of Zwingli's life 
from an educational point of view. 

Zwingli first wrote his treatise in Lat- 
in and it was printed at Basel, in 1523, 
under the title, ^^Quo pacto mgenui ado- 
lescent es informa7tdi sint^ Praeceptiones 
paiicidae^ Hiddricho Zttinglio atUorey 
The Christian spirit of the treatise does 
not appear in this title, which means, "7?^ 
what rnaiiner noble youth ought to be iJi- 
striicted ; a few precepts. Ulrich Zwi7ig- 
li^ the author y What the language 
of heathen Rome omitted in the title, 
Zwingli inserted, in preparing an edi- 
tion, in the dialect of Zurich, for his 
Christian countrymen. It was printed 
in 1526, by Christoffel Froschauer, at 



Zurich,' under the title, " IVje mmi die 
jiigendt ill giioten sitten vnd^ Christenli- 
cher ziicht vferziehen vnnd leereit soelle^ 
ettliche kiirtze vnderwysung^ durch Hiil- 
drych^n Ziiiiigliii beschribeny In Bng- 
lish, this title reads thus : ^^How one 
ought to bring up and instruct youth in 
good manners and Christiaji disciplijie ; 
a few short precepts^ 7vritten by Ulrich 
Zzmngliy That he prepared this text 
himself for the printer, is the opinion of 
Director Israel, Zschopau, Saxony, and 
of Professor Staehelin, Basel, Switzerland. 
The latter is the latest standard authority 
on Zwingli's works, and the former se- 
lected this text, as the one from 
which to publish a reprint, for his 
collection of rare pedagogical works of 
the i6th and 17th centuries, rather than 
to follow the Latin edition of 1523 or 
the South German edition of 1524. 

It is Director Isreal's reprint that we 
have translated into English, with lit- 
tle reference to any of the modern Ger- 
man texts on the life and works of 



Zwingli, in order to catch more fully, if 
possible, the spirit of Zwingli from the 
treatise, even if, occasionally, good Eng- 
lish could have been much more easily 
written from the excellent modern Ger- 
man works. 

We are greatly indebted to Director 
Israel for the following : 

"The permission which you desire 
to publish, in English, my pamph- 
let on Zwingli's Christian Education 
of Youth is hereby cheerfully granted 
and I wish you success in your undertak- 
ing, 

With great respect, 

A. Israel." 

We are also indebted to our country- 
man, the Rev. E. A. Hofer of Philadel- 
phia, for hints on the dialect of Zur- 
ich. 

For subject-matter on Zwingli's ed- 
ucational career, acknowledgment is 
hereby made to Christoffel's life of Zwing- 
li, Van Home's The Mountain Boy of 
Wildhaus, Blackburn's The Patriotic Re- 



former, Moerikofer's Zwingli, Cochran's 
Zwingli, and Staehelin's Life and Works 
of Zwingli, in two volumes. 

In closing we may remark that Zwing- 
li's treatise on the Christian Education 
of Youth was translated into English with 
title and date as follows: ^'^ Certeyne Pre- 
ceptes gathered by Hidricics Zwinglius de- 
claring howe the ingenious Youth ought 
to be instructed and brought vnto Christ. 
Ippeswich^ 1^48 y The present transla- 
tion from the original, together with a 
sketch of the educational life of Zwingli, 
it is hoped, will add new interest to the 
study of Christian education in the Ref- 
ormation period. 

Alcide Reichenbach. 
January, 1899. 



lO 

GERMAN EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

"Desshalb sol man den jueng- 
ling zuo den brunnen wysen." 
— Zwingli. 

The following short treatise was dedi- 
cated by Zwingli, in 1523 to Gerald 
Meyer, his step-son, who had just returned 
from the bath and who fell with Zwing- 
li in the battle at Cappel, October 11, 
1531. Zwingli did this in accordance 
with a custom then existing among per- 
sons whose friends were at the baths or 
had returned, as was the case with Ger- 
ald Meyer. The manuscript was in 
Latin and was published during the same 
year, at Basel, by Jacob Ceporin, who 
was one of Zwingli's friends. In 1524 it 
appeared in Augsburg in connection with 
Melanchthon's Eleinenta Piierilia ; and 
in the same year it was also published at 
Zurich, by C. Froschauer, the publisher 
of Zwingli's works. The treatise is also 
found in a collection of 21 papers on ped- 
gogical subjects, making 676 pages, pub- 



II 



lished at Basel, in 1541 ; but Zwingli's 
name is withheld, the author being des- 
ignated by the phrase, "Written by a 
Christian theologian." In the latest edi- 
tion of Zwingli's works, this treatise is 
found in volume IV., page 148. 

Already in the year 1524, 2.translation 
into German appeared, no mention be- 
ing made of the place of publication. 
The title-page contains an illustration 
symbolizing the occasion for writing the 
little treatise ; a youth receives from the 
hand of a learned man a book in return 
for a cock, the symbol of convalescence. 
Water-jugs placed beside a table symbol- 
ize the bath. Jacob IvCporin is named 
as publisher. This edition, republished, 
in 1844, by K. Fulda, is erroneously rep- 
resented by him as the first and only one 
hitherto published. 

A new translatio7t into Germait^ pub- 
lished in 1526, by C. Froschauer, at Zur- 
ich, differs materially from that of 1524. 
In his preface to the second edition, pub- 
lished in 1846, editor Christoffel says, 



12 



"the text appears in literary German, in 
the spirit and language of Zwingli (i. e., 
in Zwingli's dialect), whereas the trans- 
lation of 1524 is written in the dialect of 
the Upper-Rhine, which is entirely differ- 
ent from the dialect of Zwingli." The 
translation made at Zurich, in 1526, is, 
by comparison, more easily understood, 
more impressive, more popular, and in 
many passages more exact than the trans- 
lation of 1524. The following are ex- 
amples : 

Translation Als ich nu wiewol 

S,^ ^524. nach fleyssio^er Durchsuo- 
Basel (?). ^ & 

chung des kunstreichen 

haussradts, in kain weg das erlangen 
mocht, war das noch vberig, etc. 
Original Text. Docta autem, perlus- 
Basil, 1523. trata, quamvis diligenter, 
omni supellectile, cum praestare nulla via 
possemus, reliquum erat, etc. 
Translation of Diewyl abcr ich (wie- 
1526. Zurich, ^oi ich flyss angekert 
hab) kunstlichs dir nit leisten mocht hat 
mich beduocht nit on nutz sin, so, etc. 



^3 

Translation of Ich hab mir audi hie 
1524- niclit fuergenommen an 

der wiegen anzuoheben, auch nit an der 
ersten leer, etc. 
Original text. Neqiie hic propositum 

1523- est a cunis ordiri, sed ne- 

que a rudimentis, etc. 
Translation of Min fuernemen aber ist 
1526. nit, das ich hie setzen 

woelle soeliche vnderwysungen, die man 
den kinden von der wiegen an geben 
soelle : ouch nit wie man die anfahen- 
den schuoler erstlich berichtet, etc. 
Translation of Woelche bewegung so 
1524. wir sy im kraut abha- 

wen so haben wir, etc. 

Original text. Quem adfectum si in 

^523- ipsa herba reciderimus, 

jam nocentissima peste mentem libera- 

vimus. 

Translation of Vnd WO wir dise an- 

1526. faechtung dess gyts (Gei- 

zes) vnds orgfaltiger angst, glych so sy an- 

facht gruenen, abhouwen vnd vssrueten, 

werdend wir, etc. 



14 

In the second sentence the expression 
"erste leer (for rudimeritd) will probably 
be misnnderstood at first, particularly as 
it was used in an entirely different sense, 
only a few sentences before this one (i. e. 
primae pracceptiones). In the third sen- 
tence, ^^<;/'z/j is translated simply "be- 
wegung." 

The translation of 1526 is neither con- 
cise nor closely literal (since Zwingli is 
believed to have made it himself), but it 
renders the sense of the Latin clearly 
and unequivocally. It freely adds the 
necessary words or clauses, where the 
brevity of the Latin interferes with the 
spirit of the German. Where the Latin 
text makes learned or unusual allusions 
to the subject, his translation omits them 
or substitutes plain language. The trans- 
lation of 1524 closely follows the Latin. 

It is worthy of note that K. Fulda re- 
garded Jacob Leporin as the printer and 
publisher of the translation of 1524. 
Masius, however, who comments fully 
on the contents of the treatise and on 



15 

Zwingli's pedagogical views, in Schmidt's 
Encyclopedia X., 771-782, ascribes the 
editing of the treatise to Ceporin, Zwing- 
li's friend, and proof-reader at the press 
of the celebrated Andrew Crandander, 
in Basel, whence, through Zwingli's 
influence, he was called to the gym- 
nasium at Zurich, in 1525, where he 
died the same year. The name Le- 
porin w^ould thus seem to be a striking 
typographical error. Gueder, in Her- 
zog's Realencyclopedia, XVIII. , 720, says 
that the treatise is rich in excellent hints ""v. 
and is of value in regard to Zwingli's '^^ 
views of man's destiny. He finds the 
following to be characteristic of Zwingli : 
Christiani hominis est non de dogmatis 
7nagnifici loqui^ sed cum Deo ardita sem- 
per et inagna facere. Farther on : Non 
ut nobis vivamus nati stc?nus^ sed ut om- 
7iibns omnia fiamus. Lastly the motto : 
Adfontes igitur hie noster mittendus^ etc. 
This passage referring to the study of the 
New Testament in the original, here ad- 
mits a wider application. 



i6 



The text is faithfully reproduced from 
a copy in the city library of Zurich, ex- 
cept that some abbreviations were ex- 
panded and several typographical errors, 
found in the original, were corrected. 

The registrar of the board on the lex- 
icology of the Swiss dialects, Mr. F. 
Staub of Zurich had the kindness to have 
a transcript made and to compare the 
proof-sheets printed therefrom, with the 
original. For this kindness and for mak- 
ing valuable additions to the notes, we 
here also express our sincere thanks. 

A. Israel. 
Zschopau, September i, 1879. 



A SKETCH OF ULRICH ZWINQLl'S LIFE 
AS RELATED TO EDUCATION, 



Switzerland, which is about one-third 
as large as the state of New York, has 
been the scene of many remarkable 
events in history. The ancients called 
the country Helvetia and the inhabitants 
*J were called Helvetii. They belonged to 
the Celtic race and were conquered by 
Marius and later, by Caesar. In the sixth 
century of our era the Franks subdued 
Helvetia, and from 1273 to 1291 Rudolph 
I., German Emperor, ruled over the ter- 
ritory, which was then called Higher 
Germany. August i, 1291, ushered in 
the Swiss Confederation. All these are 
significant events, but the dawn of the 
Reformation in Switzerland overshadows 
them all, in far-reaching results. The 
Swiss Confederation has taught the 
world lessons of civil liberty ; but the 
Reformation, begun so early in Swit- 



i8 



zerland, has taught the world lessons 
of religious liberty, which perpetuates 
civil liberty and frees the human spirit 
from the shackles of sin and death. 

In the Providence of God, Ulrich 
Zwingli was called to be the pioneer and 

pleader of the Reformation in Switzerland. 
He was the third son of his father, whose 
name was also Ulrich, and was born on 
New Year's Day, in the year 1484, near 
the mountain village Wildhaus, located 
in eastern Switzerland, near the source 
of the Thur, a tributary of the Rhine, 
and about twenty miles south of Lake 
Constance. If a traveler were to start 
at Basel and go a little south of east, in 
a straight line, for about forty-five miles, 
he would reach Zurich ; and by contin- 
uing on the same line, about forty miles 
further, he would reach Wildhaus. 

**^ Young Ulrich inherited a strong con- 
stitution and an active, penetrating mind 
from his hardy and intelligent parents. 
His father, though a plain, simple moun- 
taineer, had the honor of being elected 



19 



magistrate of the parish. Ulrich learned 
many lessons from the book of nature, be- 
fore he enjoyed the advantages of a school. 
The clear, bracing mountain air impart- 
ed vigor to his body and stimulated his 
mind to great activity. The majestic 
Alps, the beautiful pines, the tender 
grass, the lovely flowers, the wild ani- 
mals, the grazing herds, and the yodel of 
the happy peasants taught him lessons of 
the true, the beautiful, and the good, 
which had their effect in molding his-«r 
character and in shaping his career. 
The huge, solid rocks which the first con- 
federates beheld on all sides, foreshad- 
owed to them the stability of the confed- 
eracy ; the Alpine peaks which surround- 
ed Zwingli in his early youth, afterwards 
became to him the fingers of nature point- 
ing to heaven, the sparkling springs were 
emblematic of the water of life, and the 
pure air was indicative of the pure Gos- 
pel truth freely offered to all mankind. 
When Zwingli was eight years old, he 
was sent to his uncle, Bartholomew 



20 



Zwingli, at Wesen, about twelve miles 
southwest of Wildhaus, in order to at- 
tend school. Having been instructed 
somewhat in the Scriptures by his grand- 
mother and being eager to learn, young 
Ulrich made good use of his time in the 
^ primitive little school at Wesen. It may 
have been in his uncle's house, as many 
teachers of children in those days w^ent 
from place to place, to teach in private 
houses. His uncle who was the village 
priest, no doubt did much to encourage 
him, and helped him in his studies. 

The subjects studied in the elementary 
schools of that time were music, gram- 
mar, and probably writing. The gram- 
mar included some reading and orthog- 
raphy. Books were very scarce and not 
adapted to the wants of children, as print- 
ing had been introduced into Swiss towns 
only about fifteen years before this time. 
^ Most of the teaching was oral and very 
imperfect. The children had to repeat 
what the master told them and if they 
did not remember it, when it was again 



21 



called for, they were often severely pun- i 
ished. Young Ulrich found it an easy ^ 
matter to make rapid progress. Indeed, 
at the end of the second year, he had 
made so much progress, particularly in 
music, that his uncle thought it best to 
send him to a higher school, where he 
would have teachers who could teach him 
what he did not already know. 

This picture of elementary schools, 
though gloomy, is much brighter than 
the one drawn by a good historian in re- 
ferring to the educational status of the 
same canton two centuries prior to this 
time, when he says : "Of all the monks 
in the convent of St. Gall there was but 
one who could read and write." \^ 

In conversation with Ulrich's parents 
his uncle expressed a desire to have the 
boy sent to his friend, George Binzli, 
master of St. Theodore School, at Basel. 
This city had become a seat of learning 
through the founding of its University, 
in the year 1459. The existing schools 
were improved thereby and others were 



22 



established. Ulricli could not go to the 
University, but he was well prepared to 
enter St, Theodore School. According- 
ly, no time was lost, and Ulrich was 
sent to Basel in 1494, where he remained 
three years, studying Latin, music, and 
dialectics. 

It was quite a trial for a lad of ten 
years to be sent to a school located down 
in the broad valley of the Rhine and so far 
from his elevated mountain home. The 
journey over the mountains and across 
the valleys seemed long, but it was nev- 
ertheless undertaken because Bartholo- 
mew Zwingli had full confidence in Binz- 
li and believed that he would do justice 
to his nephew, in every study. Binzli 
took a special interest in his pupil from 
the beginning. Ulrich was studious, and 
the religious influence of his home as 
well as that of his uncle at Wesen, had al- 
ready so fostered in him such a sense of 
duty that he soon adapted himself to the 
situation and entered with zeal upon the 
course of study in the new school. His 



23 

talent for music was developed so rapid- 
ly that he delighted his companions and 
became a leader among them. In de- 
bate, which was a very popular exercise 
in the universities and which had even 
found its way into the schools, he soon 
exhibited wonderful power ; and before 
the end of the third year, he became a 
peer to those who were older than he 
was. Master Binzli, though strongly at-^ 
tached to Ulrich, decided that another 
school should be selected for him. Having 
arrived at the age of thirteen years, Ul- 
rich was able to pursue higher studies 
than those which he pursued in St. The- 
odore School. 

After consultation with his parents, 
his uncle assisted young Zwingli to en- 
ter the school of Henry Woelflin, also 
called IvUpulus, at Bern, which was fully 
as far from home as Basel. The latter 
city had few attractions for the young 
mountaineer, as it lies in an open plain, 
where the protection of rocky walls 
and high peaks was wanting ; Bern pre- 



24 



sented the windings of the i\ar to young 
Zwingli's eye, as Basel did the beautiful 
Rhine, and although built in a wide val- 
ley, the snow-capped mountains could be 
seen so well from Bern that he doubtless 
felt as though he were nearer home than 
at Basel. 

Henry Woelflin was a learned man 
and had traveled in Palestine, Greece, 
and Rome. Thoroughly versed in the 
ancient classics and in history, and, 
withal, a poet of no mean rank, he 
was well prepared to found "the first 
academy of learned languages in 
Switzerland," or according to Mycon- 
ius, the first Swiss humanistic institu- 
tion. 

Young Zwingli here found food for 
his vigorous mind and entered zealously 
upon the study of the Latin classics, in 
which he became so proficient that he 
tried to imitate the Latin poets. His 
poetical turn of mind was here brought 
to light and his skill in music became so 
great that he could play upon any in- 



25 

strument then in use. He sang well and 
exhibited wonderful powers of speech. 
He learned to speak Latin in a more fin- <; 
ished style than that of his native Swiss 
dialect. Never afterwards did the love 
for classical literature grow cold in 
Zwingli's active life. 

The Dominican monks, charmed by 
Zwingli's ability as a musician, tried to in- 
duce him to join their order. It^eems that 
he wrote to his father, in regard to the 
matter, who at once called him home, in 
order to save him from the terrors of the 
monastery. Thus Zwingli studied at 
Bern, from 1497 to the latter part of the 
year 1499, preparing himself for entering^ 
a university. 

According to the advice of his uncle, 
Zwingli was sent to the University of 
Vienna, where he was matriculated in"* 
the year 1500. The journey was at least 
four times as long as the one he had just 
made, but Zwingli was now sixteen years 
old and a long journey would be inspir- 
ing to him. The prospect of attending 



26 



the University of Vienna, a flourishing 
institution having a history extending 
over a period of 135 years cheered his 
heart and made him feel that his desire 
for knowledge would be satisfied. 

At this institution Zwingli was asso- 
ciated with students whose intellectual 
attainments were quite congenial to him. 
The names of some of them were after- 
wards recorded in history. One of his as- 
sociates was later on known as Doctor Eck, 1 
the greatest Catholic theologian of Ger- 
many and a powerful opponent to Luther. 
Another bore the name of Glarean, 
from Glarus, his Swiss home ; he after- 
wards became professor at the University 
of Basel and kept boarding students, 
among whom, in all probability, was 
Gerald Meyer, Zwingli's step-son. Zwing- 
li, in the introduction to the little trea- 
tise on education dedicated to Gerald, 
speaks of the teacher of the latter as 
"our Glarean." 

The studies which Zwingli pursued 
were mathematics, natural history, the 



27 

Roman classics, poetry and music. He 
could build well on what he had learned 
under his great teacher Woelflin, at Bern. 
The father of Zwingli called him home 
in the year 1502, thus limiting his time 
at the University of Vienna to two years. 
The rich store of knowledge which 
Zwingli now possessed could not be util- 
ized at Wildhaus, and, at the same time, 
his capacity and desire to learn were 
such that he could not stay at home ; ac- 
cordingly, he went back to Basel in the 
same year, but this time to be matricu- 
lated at the University. He had left 
Basel at the age of thirteen ; he returned 
when he was eighteen years old. His 
age and scholarship now fitted him to 
teach at St. Martin's School, while at- 
tending lectures in philosophy at the 
University. He taught Latin with great 
success at St. Martin's School and his 
wonderful skill in music delighted his 
companions and set many of them to cul- 
tivating their talent for music. He stud- 
ied the philosophy and the theology of 



\, 



28 



Ills time more to refute the arguments of 
their expounders in later years than for 
any other purpose. 

In the year 1505 the great theologian 
^ Wittenbach was called to Basel. He at- 
c^ tacked the doctrines of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church and showed so clearly the 
rule of faith, by the w^ord of God, that 
Zwingli, whose heart was prepared for 
the seed, became a disciple of Wittenbach 
and thus entered upon the study of the- 
ology in real earnest. He there laid the 
foundation for the great work of the Ref- 
ormation, in which he played so active a 
y^ part. Having rejected scholasticism, he 
turned to humanism for educational ideals 
and being convinced that error was de- 
moralizing the Romish Church, he 
sought pure religious truth in the 
Bible. 

In the year 1504, the University con- 
ferred upon Zwingli the degree of Bach- 
elor of Arts, x^fter two years of further 
study, he received the degree of Master 
of Arts, but he made no use of it and 



29 



even said in regard to it, ''One is our 
Master, even Christ." 

His father and his uncle were relieved 
from contributing to his support during 
these four years spent at Basel, as Zwing- 
li was enabled to support himself with 
the salary received at St. Martin's School. 

Zwingli's student-life closed at institu- 
tions of learning, only to be continued to 
his death, in his profession as a min- 
ister of the Gospel. Before leaving Bas- 
el, he was called to the parish at Glarus, 
seven miles south of Wesen, where he 
had first attended school. How the 
young priest of twenty-two must have 
compared his last studies with his 
first, when he was a boy of eight 
years ! He had grown very much more 
in mind than in body. He had been a 
student fourteen years, and quoting his 
words, "on no occasion has discipline 
been exercised upon me, yet I acknowl- 
edge that I am a great sinner before God." 
The American educator would sum up 
Zwingli's school-days thus : Two years in 
the primary school, at Wesen ; three years ^ 



30 



in the grammar school, at Basel ; three 
years in the academy, at Bern ; four years 
of undergraduate study, two at the Uni- 
versity of Vienna and two at the Univer- 
sity of Basel ; and two years of graduate 
study at the latter University. 

Zwingli gave time enough to higher 
education to become a good scholar ; but 
his educational career had, in a certain 
sense, only begun. At Glarus, in addi- 
tion to the duties which he performed as 
pastor, he founded a Latin School, which 
he conducted with signal success. His 
younger brother James was one of his 
pupils. Some of those who made the 
most progress he sent to Vienna, others 
to Basel. 

The study of the Roman classics was 
continued, with all the work that he did 
as pastor and master of a school. Cicero, 
Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Suetonius, Pliny, 
Seneca, and Tacitus were his Roman 
companions and the critical study of their 
thoughts was his delight. He took 
much pains to become a good public 



31 



speaker and studied for this purpose the 
masterpieces of eloquence. He once said : 
"A man must know two things above all 
others, namely, God and how to 
speak." 

More than all else he studied the Bible 
to find therein the rule of life, so that . 
he might the more faithfully carry out the 
resolution he had made when he came to 
Glarus, namely, "I shall be true and up- 
right towards God and man in every cir- 
cumstance of life into which the hand of 
the Lord may place me." 

Glarus, the place w4iere, it is said, slates 
were first used in a school, was never for- 
gotten by a few Swiss scholars who stud- 
ied in Zwingli's Latin School. He had 
introduced into his school the modern 
notion of sympathy between teacher and 
pupil, and his pupils became quite pro- 
ficient in the Latin classics. Such a 
school deserves a paragraph in the history 
of education. Aegidius Tschudi, who 
afterwards made his mark as a Swiss his- 
torian, wrote to Zwingli from Basel : 



32 



"Help me that I may be recalled to you, for 
with no one would I desire so much 
to live as with you." Valentine Tschu- 
di, a cousin of i\egidius, wrote : "How 
could I ever cease thanking you for your 
great kindness ! As often as I returned 
home, and in a special manner quite re- 
cently when I lay sick of a fever for four 
days, also when I forgot my books at Ba- 
sel, you invited me to come to you, but I 
feared in my timidity, that I might be- 
come a burden to you ; and you encour- 
aged me, offered me your books, your 
help and services. To me, also, your be- 
nevolence to all students overflowed, and 
that, too, not in a general way, but with 
studious regard to my circumstances and 
necessities your treasures of learning 
were at my disposal." 

We are not told how long this Latin 
School was under Zwingli's direction. 
Several times during his ten years of service 
at Glarus, he was called away long enough 
to close the Latin School or to place it 
in the hands of other persons. We do 



33 

know, however, that he was not satisfied 
with all the research that he made in the 
Roman classics ; for in the year 15 13, he 
began the study of Greek without the aid 
of a teacher. He succeeded so well that 
he could soon read Greek authors with 
ease. He once remarked that Greek had 
become as easv for him as conversinor 
with a friend. In the course of time he 
read Hesiod, Homer, Pindar, Thucydides, 
Demosthenes, Plato, and Aristotle. In 
later years he also wrote explanatory 
notes on Homer and Pindar. The latter 
seems to have been one of his favorite 
authors. "According to my conviction," 
said he, "no other Greek writer serves so 
valuable a purpose to throw light upon 
the Holy Scriptures as this one. An- 
tiquity, as every other period, has pecu- 
liarities which can only be understood, 
by familiar intercourse with the ancients 
themselves. Pindar resembles that sa- 
cred period, not only in his language but 
also in the direction of his thought and 
in his inmost being." Above all else, he 



34 



desired to read the New Testament in 
Greek, in order to obtain better and 
clearer views of the truth. He even copied 
all the epistles of St. Paul in Greek, in 
order that he might carry them with him 
and commit them to memory. In the 
same manner, he afterwards copied other 
portions of the Bible. 

V Before leaving Glarus, Zwingli became 
intensely interested in reforms, in matters 
of religion. In the year 1514, he met 
the learned Erasmus, the humble Myco- 
nius, and the eloquent Oecolampadius, 
at Basel. The light thrown upon re- 
forms in religion by these men so filled 
Zwingli's mind with zeal for the truth 
that his students and his friends at home 
were delighted with his preaching. 

In the year 151 6, this wonderful stu- 
dent of Bible truth and classic writers 
was called to Einsiedeln, about sixteen 
miles to the northwest, Valentine Tschudi, 
his former pupil in the Latin School, be- 
coming his sucessor to Glarus. Zwing- 
li han now become an attractive and elo- 

In the last two lines read successor a/ and Aarf respectively. 



35 



quent speaker, as well as a finished schol- 
ar and zealous reformer. The supersti- 
tious practices at Einsiedeln furnished 
him an opportunity to make use of his 
wonderful talents. He fearlessly attacked 
the advocates of Romish errors and 
preached reform to large and attentive 
audiences. Perhaps no other man could 
have so impressed his hearers as to cause 
nuns to return to their parents and pil- 
grims to turn away from the sacred shrine 
in despair, or to Jesus as their only Sav- 
ior. Two years seemed to suffice to pre- 
pare Zwingli for a new field of activity, 
to which we must follow him in order to 
complete his remarkable educational ca- 
reer. 

Called to Zurich, in the year 1518, 
Zwingli was better prepared than ever 
before to expose the errors of Rome. 
Having begun in the year 1516 to preach 
the pure Gospel, he had now become a 
powerful exponent of the truth as it is in 
Christ Jesus, and his persevering study of 
oratory gave his cheerful manner and his 



36 



convincing arguments an attractiveness 
that drew crowds to hear his sermons, 
which, during the first four years of liis 
pastorate at Zurich, covered the subject- 
matter of seven books in the New Tes- 
tament. The Reformation was progress- 
ing rapidly at Zurich. 

During this time Zwingli began the 
study of Hebrew under the direction of 
Andrew Boeschenstein, who had come 
to Zurich and offered to teach Hebrew 
to any w^ho wished to study it. In the 
fifth year of Zwingli's pastorate at Zur- 
ich, he explained the value of the He- 
brew language to every student of the 
Bible, in his short treatise on Christian 
education. No one was more faithful in 
the study of Hebrew and no one made 
more progress than Zwingli ; the linguis- 
tic power which he already possessed en- 
abled him to overcome the difficulties of 
the Hebrew language and to discover its 
genius, in a remarkably short time. He 
soon read the Old Testament with great 
satisfaction, because the Hebrew text 



37 

conveyed to his mind clearer notions of 
the truth. Zwingli's wonderful perse- 
verance in the study of languages, at a 
time when he might have been content 
wath the meagre attainments of most par- 
ish priests, ought to awaken admiration 
for him in the mind of every student of 
to-day, and should make him zealous to 
excel in linguistic study, according to 
the demands of the present age. 

In order to understand how it came 
about that Zwingli wrote on Christian 
education, it becomes necessary to refer 
to his social life at Zurich, and to the 
habits of the youth at that time. 

Anna Reinhardt, a plain and unas- 
suming girl, yet talented, amiable, and 
spotless in character was married, in 
1504, to John Meyer von Knonau, a 
nobleman near Zurich. His father was 
so displeased with him for having been 
unwilling to marry a maiden selected for 
him from the ranks of the nobility that 
he would have nothing whatever to do 
with John and his amiable wife. In the 



38 



course of time John Meyer enlisted in 
the Italian military service, as many oth- 
er Swiss did at that time, and in 151 7 he 
died. The sad widow felt that she was 
forsaken with her little son Gerald, who 
was then eight years old, and her two 
daughters younger than he. She lived 
in the town of Zurich, making her living 
as well as she could. One day she went 
to market, where her father-in-law Meyer 
saw little Gerald playing about the mar- 
ket. He was struck with the appearance 
of the little boy and after inquiring who 
the handsome little fellow was, Mr. Mey- 
er was told that the boy was his grand- 
child. This touched the old man's heart 
and he at once received the lonely wid- 
ow Anna as a member of his family. 

In the year 151 8, Mr. Meyer died, but 
it seems that he had provided for Anna 
in such a way that she was comfortably 
situated in her own house, and her chil- 
dren, as Zwingli afterwards once said, 
"had wealth enough." Anna Meyer now 
lived for her children, leading them in 



39 



the path of virtue and providing for their 
education. 

At about the same time when Anna 
Meyer lost her father-in-law, Zwingli 
came to Zurich and he happened to re- 
side in a house adjoining Anna Meyer's 
home. She became one of the first and 
most attentive listeners to his preaching. 
Her beautiful character must have made 
a good impression upon his mind, from 
the beginning. Her devotion to the 
proper training of her children must have 
led Zwingli to see in her a model mother. 
Gerald once came to Zwingli's house, on 
an errand. The conversation which fol- 
lowed caused Zwingli to admire the boy 
and to help him, later, in his studies. 
In 152 1, when Gerald was twelve years 
old, Zwingli sent him to Basel, where he 
was at first taught by Jacob Nepos and after- 
wards by Glarean, Zwingli's friend. Ger- 
ald learned Latin so well that in the same 
year, he wrote Zwingli a letter in Latin 
that would be equal to twenty-five lines 
of the average text on Cicero's orations. 



40 



Although Gerald seemed to have in- 
herited something of his father's wild dis- 
position and did not always escape dis- 
cipline, he still treasured up the religious 
truth received from his mother and from 
Zwingli, thereby laying the foundation 
for that noble manhood which prompted 
him to remain true to God and his coun- 
try, till he fell with Zwingli on the field 
of battle. 

Early in 1522, Anna Meyer was mar- 
ried to Zwingli, privately, according to a 
custom then coming into vogue among 
the clergy, in order not to excite 
the wrath of the enemies of the Ref- 
ormation. She was then thirty-seven 
years old, a year younger than Zwingli. 
Zurich was soon prepared for public mar- 
iage of the clergy, however ; so that on 
the second of April, 1524, Zwingli's mar- 
iage was celebrated, publicly, to the 
joy of his numerous friends. The fol- 
lowing year, Zurich actually passed 
laws relating to marriage, conformably 
to Zwingli's private and public marriage. 



41 

Gerald Meyer, having returned from 
Basel, after two years of study, now met 
Zwingli, not only as a father in the faith 
but as his father by marriage. The 
bonds of attachment thus formed induced 
Zwingli all the more to have Gerald's 
highest welfare at heart. During the 
summer of 1523 Gerald, then a lad of 
fourteen, spent some time at the hot 
baths in the mountains and returned to 
Zurich before Zwingli had time to get a 
present ready for him, according to the 
custom at that time. 

Zwingli, to protect the sprightly Gerald 
from the pernicious influence of reckless 
companions and to reform the training of 
youth and the conduct of the young in 
society, had planned a treatise on Chris- 
tian education, some time prior to this, 
but he had failed to find time to write it. 
The return from the bath furnished an 
occasion which Zwingli could not pass 
by unimproved ; consequently, he took 
the time to write in Latin, for the young 
student of the classics, the instructive 



5" 



42 

and edifying treatise on Christian educa- 
tion and dedicated it to him, on the first 
day of August. 
^^ This short treatise exhibits, in a remark- 
able degree, Zwingli's keen insight into 
the intellectual, moral, and religious 
needs of youth. Though short, it was 
worth more to Gerald than a present of 
gold and precious stones, because its in- 
fluence upon his character could not fail 
to be lasting. Zwingli clearly marked 
out the way in which Gerald should 
walk and how he should prepare to walk 
therein. He laid down as much of sci- 
ence and art, in his course, as the teach- 
ers in those days could teach, and the 
study of religion and morals was empha- 
sized in keeping with the evangelical 
spirit of the great reformer. The cul- 
ture which Gerald was to receive 
from following Zwingli's teaching 
reached out into nearly all the avenues 
of life. Although no principles of 
education are categorically laid down, 
the treatise breathes them throug-h- 



43 



out, in the study and practice recom- 
mended. 

The Rev. K. Fulda, editor of the re- 
print of the South-German edition of 
1524, declares the latter to be the first 
Protestant treatise on pedagogy. He 
makes no mention of the Latin edition of 
1523, which is still earlier and therefore 
in no sense an imitation, but an original 
protestant production. Truly, this mod- 
est treatise, to which an otherwise excel- 
lent French history of pedagogy makes a 
one-sided reference, by mentioning only 
certain elements of secular education con- 
tained therein, deserves a place of high 
honor in Christian pedagogical literature. 

In support of this opinion, we quote 
from Moerikofer : "It is too serious and 
thoughtful a production to be regarded 
only as a friendly message on a social oc- 
casion Zwingli knew well that 

the wild disposition of the Swiss youth 
was fostered by the corrupt civil life of /^ 
that time and that through love of close X 
application to study, honest labor, and 



44 



noble aspirations a better time must come. 
Scarcely was any other man so well pre- 
pared as he to work for this end ; hence, 
Christian earnestness, humanistic wis- 
dom, and training for contact with the 
world are united in a beautiful, harmon- 
ious whole It is a safe philosophy 

of life, emanating from a thoroughly 
trained and experienced man, whose 
heart was filled with the abiding joys of 
a higher life in the light of the Holy 
Gospel." No one will thus appreciate 
the reading of the treatise, however, who 
does not fully imagine himself carried 
back to Zwingli's time, so as to see, men- 
tally, the crude, unscientific methods of 
\/ pedagogy, fettered by the shackles of 
scholasticism. Then, too, Zwingli's style 
is often loose and sometimes lacks meth- 
od ; he wrote in too many languages, and 
he was too busily engaged to rewrite or 
even review what he had hastily writ- 
ten. Zwingli never wrote books for pe- 
cuniary ga.m^/or he never accepted mo7iey 
to 7jurite a book. 



45 



Head-master Niessli of the Carolinum, 
named after Charles the Great, who had 
granted letters for an ecclesiastical foun- 
dation, at Zurich, was removed by death 
and Zwingli was elected as his successor, 
April 14, 1525. This institution had de- 
clined as a gymnasium, with the churches 
of the city, on account of the idleness and 
corruption of the religious and education- 
al leaders ; hence Zwingli sought to re- 
form the Carolinum as well as the 
churches, as a necessary part of the great 
work of the Reformation. 

Accordingly, on the 19th of June, in 
the same year, he substituted for the 
choir-service what he called "prophecy," 
according to i Cor. 14, thus engrafting 
upon the Carolinum a higher institution 
which transformed it into a remarkably 
practical school of theology, ancient lan- 
guages, and elementary science. It is 
here that Zwingli accomplished his great- 
est work, as an educator. The school 
was in session every week-day, Friday 
excepted, and was opened at 7 o'clock 



46 



in the morning, in the summer, and 
at 8 o'clock, in the winter. A month's 
vacation was granted three times a year. 
The course of study centered on the Bi- 
ble. The first hour, i. e. the "prophecy" 
proper, was given to exegesis, with some 
elements of systematic and practical the- 
ology to meet the wants of the Reforma- 
tion. The second hour consisted of a 
divine service, in which the people of the 
city took part with the students, among 
whom were also town-parsons, predicants, 
canons, and chaplains. Here the same 
Scriptures were treated again, but so 
simplified that the people could under- 
stand them ; and we may add that the 
students themselves not only obtained a 
clearer knowledge from this repetition 
but they also learned, in a most practical 
manner, how to present the truth in their 
future charges. Friday w^as market-day, 
and the people from the country came to 
hear the preaching, which was largely 
intended for their special benefit. The 
afternoon of each school-day was devoted 



47 

to the study of the languages and elemen- 
tary science. 

The first professor chosen to assist 
Zwingli was Ceporin, a Greek and He- 
brew scholar of great merit. He was 
elected, June 5, 1525, but he had been 
teaching at Zurich, in 1522, and later, at 
Basel, where his Greek grammar was 
printed. At the Carolinum, he filled the 
chair of professor of Hebrew, but only 
till December 20th of the same year, when 
he died from over-exertion, at the age of 
26. In March, the following spring, the 
learned Pellican became his successor. Ja- 
cob Ammann was, at the same time, elect- 
ed professor of Latin and Rudolph Collin, 
professor of Greek. Megander, Leo Jud, 
and Myconius also assisted Zwingli. 
Myconius, however, taught at the Frau- 
enminster School, but he conducted an 
exercise in New Testament exegesis there, 
every afternoon at three o'clock, which 
crowds of the laity and students attend- 
ed, whereas Zwingli had charge of Old 
Testament exegesis, at the Carolinum, 



48 



besides being its head and also the pastor 
of a congregation. 

The call of Pellican includes the sal- 
ary to be paid him, which was to be 
equal to Zwingli's, namely, sixty to 
seventy florins and lodging. 

The "prophecy," or theological de- 
partment proper, was conducted as fol- 
lows : Zwingli offered a prayer to the ef- 
fect that God might enlighten every mind 
and make each one to understand rightly 
his Word. Then followed the reading 
of a portion of Scripture from the Vul- 
gate, by a scholar, with comments by 
Megander ; the same verses were then 
read in Hebrew and explained critically, 
doctrinally, and practically, in Latin, by 
Pellican ; thereafter, Zwingli compared 
both texts with the Septuagint and fur- 
ther explained and applied the text, prac- 
tically ; finally, Leo Jud turned the last 
text and its applications into good Ger- 
man. If something better was revealed 
to any one else, the speaker gave him 
the privilege of making it known. 



49 



The languages seem to have been 
taught by memorizing and constant 
speaking. A student present, in Au- 
gust, says : "At six o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the first book of Virgil's ^^neid is 
read. All those verses of Virgil must be 
memorized. The second lesson is on 
Cicero's letters to his friends, the best of 
which must also be memorized. These 
are the morning lessons. Then we read 
Homer, compose letters, and write a 
poem." 

If one could see all the obstacles put 
in Zwingli's way, as well as the natural 
circumstances of his time, the establish- 
ment of this wonderful school of theol- 
ogy would appear all the more astonish- 
ing. Most men would have been con- 
tent with zealous preaching, but Zwing- 
li's activity extended even beyond 
the limits of teaching and preaching. 
He also wrote a number of books, car- 
ried on an extensive correspondence, and 
defended the cause of reform in public 
debate. In 1528, it required discussions 



50 

lasting nineteen days, at Bern, to establish 
the Reformation there. 

It is impossible to understand how 
Zwingli could do all these things, and do 
them so well, until we know the secret of 
his success. Zwingli had exceptional intel- 
lectual ability and worked speedily, sys- 
tematically, and incessantly ; besides all 
this, he possessed herculean powers of 
endurance. On one occasion, he aided 
the reformers in their debate, at Baden, 
fourteen miles northwest of Zurich, by 
sending messengers, every night, with 
letters expressing his views ; and so bus- 
ily was he then engaged, that he did not 
go to bed at all, for six weeks. His iron 
constitution and his quick, penetrating 
intellect enabled him to accomplish a 
work that is grander and more enduring 
than the much admired snow-capped 
Alps that pierce the clouds and tower up 
into the clear, blue sky. As early as 
1 5 14, Erasmus said that he expected 
Zwingli to raise his country to a higher 
plane of learning and morals, along 



51 

with like-minded men of other na- 
tions. How much higher he could have 
raised it, had he not been cut down, in the 
midst of his labors, October ii, 1531, on 
the cruel battle-field of Cappel ! 

The hero died and all reformers wept, 

The loss to them was great and fierce the strife; 

But greater was the gain to him that slept, 
For he had gone to reap eternal life. 



HOW ONE OUGHT TO BRING UP AND IN= 

STRUCT YOUTH IN GOOD MANNERS AND 

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLINE ; A FEW SHORT 

PRECEPTS, BY ULRICH 2WINGL1. 

Grace and Peace from God and our 
IvORD Jesus Christ be unto the hon- 

ORABIvE AND DISCREET YOUTH, GERALD 

Meyer, by Ulrich Zwingli. 

As you have just returned from the 
bath and as every one else has received 
you with gladness, some presenting you 
with one gift and others with another, I 
thought it would be unkind and even 
rude on my part, my dear Gerald, were I 
not also to receive you with a present 
provided for you. I feel all the more 
pressed to do this, because it is the 
general custom among good friends 
thus to honor those returning from 
health resorts or even before they 
return. 

I have a twofold reason for counting 
you among my dear friends. You ear- 
nestly devote yourself to art and learning, 



53 

and I hope not without good results. 
You also strive diligently after learning 
in the ranks of the young heroes, in 
the school of our Glarean, the learned 
and well-informed instructor and mas- 
ter. 

In thinking much, for a long time, 
about what would be most agreeable to 
you, I have come to the conclusion that 
the present, in order to please you, 
should be of a sacred character or of the 
character of the liberal arts, or it should 
partake of the nature of both. As you 
are inclined to godliness and virtue, you 
also manifest, at an early age, the agree- 
able fruits of good citizenship and noble- 
ness of character. Though I diligently 
sought to give you something pertaining 
to the arts but failed to succeed, I thought 
it not without value to you and perhaps I 
might render you a lasting service, if I 
were to instruct you in certain things per- 
taining not only to the health of the 
body but also to the good of the soul. 
Remembering that I had planned, some 



54 

time ago, to write a little book on the 
manner of instructing and training youth, 
and that I was prevented from carrying 
out what I had in mind, by many un- 
toward circumstances, as you can now 
see, it ocurred to me, in thinking about 
a present for you, that my former inten- 
tion should now be carried out. 

Although I see some who are exceed- 
ingly careful to place a perfect work of 
art into the hands of one really worthy 
of it, I find myself defeated at this point ; 
for the one to whom I desire to dedicate 
such a work is already present, and I have 
not the leisure of an artist, nor the nine 
years of time afterwards to store up the 
masterpiece [Horace De Arte Poetica, 
v., 386 et seq.]. Being now in a dilem- 
ma, since, on the one hand, I ought to 
make you a present, and on the other, I 
have no time to prepare anything with- 
out haste and according to the custom, I 
have found a way, as I believe, that will 
satisfy both of us on this occasion. I 
have robbed my occupation of so much 



55 

time as to collect hastily, certain instruc- 
tions ; but they will be brief and careful- 
ly considered, lest you should become 
weary of reading to the end. As a rule,>^ 
when little of a good thing is given, more^^ 
is wanted. 

What I teach you here, I hope you will 
not judge from its style ; but I trust that 
you will appreciate it, on account of its 
significance and because it comes from 
the heart. He who is not godless may 
promise to [write about] holy things [in 
so short a time], but the most learned 
man would be ashamed to promise a fin- 
ished work. 

My subject will be treated under three 
heads : Part first tells how the delicate 
mind of youth should be nurtured and 
instructed in the things pertaining to 
God ; part second instructs the youth 
in the things pertaining to himself ; and 
part third shows how a youth should act 
towards other persons. 

In this undertaking I do not have in 
view the instruction of infants, nor the 



56 



I manner in which pupils should be 
' taught, when they begin to go to school ; 
but the instruction and conduct of those 
who have arrived at an age in which they 
are clever and intelligent and, as men 
say, are able to swim without dry bark. 
I regard you as now having arrived at 
this age. It is to be hoped that you will 
read these thoughts attentively and fre- 
quently, and that you will conform your 
life to them, in order that other youths 
may learn of you as a living example. 
May God work out these things in your 
heart. Amen. 

Given at Zurich, on the first day of 
August, in the year 1523. 



57 

Part I. — How the delicate mind of 
Youth should be Nurtured and In- 
structed IN THE Things Pertaining 
TO God. 

First of all, let me say that, although 
man can in no wise draw his own heart 
to faith in the only true God, even if one 
could surpass in power of speech the cel- 
ebrated and eloquent Pericles, but only 
our heavenly Father who draws us to 
Himself can do these things ; yet faith 
comes, according to the apostle Paul, by 
hearing, in so far as such hearing is the 
hearing of the Word of God. Do not under- 
stand, however, that the preaching of the 
mere spoken Word can accomplish 
so much, unless the Spirit within attracts 
and speaks.' For this reason, must 
faith be implanted in the heart of a youth 
with pure and sacred words coming, as it 
were, from God himself. The speaker 
should, at the same time, also pray to 
Him who alone can work faith, to the 
end that He may enlighten by his 



58 

Spirit, the one who is being instructed 
in the Word of God. 

^^ To my mind, it does not seem in- 
consistent with the teachings of Christ to 
lead the young to a knowledge of God 
through sensible objects. When the beau- 
tiful structure of the whole world is 
placed before their eyes, each created ob- 
ject points, as with a finger, to the mu- 
tability and the destructibility of all ex- 
isting things ; whereas he who so firm- 
ly established and harmoniously united 
these numberless things must be eternal 
and immutable. To this it should be 
added that he who so wisely and skillfully 
arranged all things ought, in no wise, to 
be mistrusted or supposed to forget his 
works or to fail to guide them all in 
harmony ; for among men, a father 
would be regarded as wicked, if he did 
not diligently care for his household. 

^ From this the youth will learn that 
the providence of God provides all things, 
orders all things, upholds all things ; for, 
of two sparrows bought for a farthing. 



59 

one does not fall to the ground without 
the providence of God, who has num- 
bered the very hairs of our heads. His 
care and watchfulness surely do not di- 
minish when the object for which God 
cares is small or insignificant. 

It is clear from these considerations, 
that God, in his providence, foreordains 
and provides not only the things for the 
soul but also those needed for the body ; 
hence, also, we see how He feeds the ra- 
vens and how beautifully He clothes and 
adorns the lilies of the field. Where the 
human mind is rightly imbued with the 
teaching of the providence of God, there 
it can no longer be anxious about food 
and clothing, much less be shamefully 
avaricious. The mind will be kept from 
a dangerous poison, if the temptation to 
avarice and the worry about making 
one's living be cut off and uprooted, as 
soon as they appear. The mind will then 
know that God is not only lyord, but al- 
so the Father of all those who trust in 
Him, — that He would have us go to Him 



6o 



for help no less than we go to our earth- 
ly father, and that He promised help in 
his own words, yea, invites us to come to 
Him in prayer. 

When we are attacked by disease, there- 
fore, whether it be of the soul or of the 
body, we are taught to pray to God alone 
for the true remedy. When the enemy 
oppresses us and with envy and hatred 
makes our burden heavy, we are to flee 
to Him alone. When we desire knowl- 
edge or skill or wisdom, we know that 
we are to ask these things of God. Even 
wife and children are to be asked of Him. 
When riches and honor are bestowed 
upon us more freely than upon others, 
we ought to pray to God that our hearts- 
may not grow faint and that we be not 
led astray. 

What more need I say ? If our minds 
be so informed as I said before, we shall 
feel that all things are to be sought from 
God. We shall also regard it an offense 
against God to ask of Him favors which 
should not be bestowed upon us ; yea, we 



6i 



shall be ashamed to desire or to possess 
anything unbecoming to us in the sight 
of God ; on the contrary, we will strive 
only after those things which are endur- 
ing and will further our salvation. 

The youth whom we have before us 
for instruction will come to a knowledge 
of the mysteries of the Gospel in the fol- 
/ lowing manner : In the first place, he 
must learn about the condition of our 
first parents, how they died after they 
had transgressed the command of God. 

C Then, he must learn how they, with their 
sins, brought the whole human race un- 
der sin and condemnation ; for the dead 
can not give birth to living beings, no 
, more than Moors are ever seen to be born 
of British parents. From all this our 
youth will come to know his own infir- 
mities and his sin-sick condition. These 

^ infirmities he will also feel, when he 
knows that we do all things in weakness, 
or through frailty, or from selfish motives, 
or through temptation ; and when he 
knows, too, that God is infinitely far from 



62 



temptation, since there can be no tempta- 
tion or weakness in Him. It undoubted- 
ly follows from this that we, if we desire 
to dwell with God [in heaven], must be- 
come free from temptation. Just as the 
righteous man will have no association 
with the wicked man and as the wicked 
man also can not bear the conduct of the 
righteous ; so, also, no one shall dwell with 
God, except he only who is without spot 
or blemish, being pure in heart and holy, 
even as God is holy ; for "blessed are 
the pure in heart, for they shall see 
God." 

Such a state of innocence and holiness 
we shall not be able to attain, as long as 
we are surrounded, on all sides, by temp- 
tations. Here we are in a sad dilemma. 
As God requires such a state of innocence, 
purity, and holiness and yet, as we are 
unable of ourselves to do anything but 
evil in His sight, being poisoned by sin 
and full of vice, we have no other way 
but to surrender ourselves to God and to 
look to Him for mercv. 



63 



Then will dawn upon us the light of 
the Gospel, the glorious news made 
known to us, namely, that from such 
anxiety and misery, from such wretched- 
ness, in which we all lie bound, Christ re- 
deems us; for He is such a Savior, Restor- 
er, and Preserver that the greatest hea- 
then god can in no way be likened unto 
Him. This Jesus gives peace to our con- 
sciences, which hitherto caused us to be 
in despair ; yea. He draws us to Himself 
that we may implicitly trust in Him and 
thus are we saved. Since He is entirely 
free from all infirmities and temptations, 
for He was conceived by the Holy Ghost 
and born of a pure and innocent virgin, 
He first offered up his innocence and 
righteousness in our stead ; and having 
borne our burdens, pains, and diseases 
He thereby saved all those that firmly 
believe these things. For whoever ac- 
cepts by faith this free gift, which is of- 
fered to the lost human race by God 
through Christ, is saved and henceforth 
becomes a joint heir with Christ ; where- 



64 



fore he also will be with the Father in 
eternal bliss, for He wills that his serv- 
ants be where He is. 

The innocence, purity, and righteous- 
ness of Christ, which He offered up for 
our guilt and condemnation, deliver us 
from sin, guilt, and suffering ; and we are 
reckoned worthy of the favor of God, for 
the reason that Christ, who was absolute- 
ly free from all sinful inclination, was 
able to satisfy fully the justice of God. 
Although He is so high and holy, namely, 
very God, He nevertheless is our Savior. 
From this it follows that his righteous- 
ness and innocence, which are wanting 
in us, are also imputed to us ; for God 
made Him unto us wisdom, righteousness, 
sanctification and redemption. So we 
now have access to God through Christ, 
because He is our Savior and a pledge of 
y^ the grace of God unto us. He is our 
surety, our bondsman, our mediator, our 
advocate, and our intercessor ; yea, He is 
a perfect Savior to us. 



65 



Those who have thus received the Gos- 
pel and assuredly trust therein are born 
of God ; for the shortsightedness of the 
human mind can neither perceive nor 
understand the heavenly and mysterious 
council of God's grace. 

This truth accounts for the fact that 
those who are born again through the 
Gospel do not sin ; for he that is born of 
God doth not commit sin. Whoever be- 
lieves in the Gospel is born of God. So, 
then, do those not sin who are born again 
through the Gospel. To explain more 
fully, it will suffice to say that their sins 
are not reckoned to them unto death and 
damnation, because Christ has paid the 
debt and has washed away their sins, by 
having become a precious ransom through 
his death on the cross. 

Although we, while we are in this 
mortal body and are justly removed far 
from the Lord in our misery, are unable 
to escape from temptation and are there- 
fore not without sin; yet Christ, because 
He is our Savior, makes full amends for 



66 



our weakness and failings. As He is an 
everlasting, an eternal Spirit, He is also so 
dear and precious in the sight of God, 
that He pays our debt and takes away 
our sins ; yea, Christ's merits far surpass 
our sins and transgressions. 
/ Such assured confidence in Christ, how- 
' ever, does not make men lazy, does not 
make them negligent nor careless ; but 
on the contrary, it awakens us, urges us 
on, and makes us active in doing good 
and living righteous lives, since such as- 
sured confidence can not come from man. 
How could it be that the human mind, 
which is given almost wholly to impres- 
sions from without, would lean entirely^ 
and in all hopefulness and confidence, 
upon a thing which is invisible and 
which can in no wise be perceived by 
the senses ? From this it is to be under- 
stood that this faith and assured confi- 
dence in Christ must come from God only. 
Now, where God works, you need not 
fear that the cause will not prosper or 
that good deeds will not follow. 



67 

Inasmuch as God is a perfect, everlast- 
ing being, and a moving power which is 
immovable, but which moves all things 
else. He will ever move and actively en- 
gage those whose hearts He has drawn to 
Himself. This opinion does not require 
proof, but practice and experience. Only 
the believers in Christ learn and exper- 
ience how He engages them in his ser- 
vice and with how much courage and joy 
they continue in the work of the Lord. 

Now he who has well learned the mys- 
teries of the Gospel and rightly under- 
stands them will endeavor to live a right- 
eous life ; therefore the Gospel should be 
taught most diligently and, as much as 
S''' may be, in all its purity. We should al- 
so very early teach the young how to 
practice those things which please God 
most, those, — in fact, which He continual- 
ly is to us, namely, truth, justice, mercy, 
faithfulness, and righteousness. For if 
God be a Spirit, He can be rightly honored 
with no other offering than a submissive 
mind. Therefore every youth should see 



68 



to it, in all diligence, that he strive early 
to walk in the way that will make him 
become a pious man, and that, as much 
as in him lies, his life be innocent and 
godlike. The Lord does good to all 
men ; He is helpful to every one and 
wounds no person, unless he be one who 
has already done harm to himself. So, 
also, he who endeavors to be useful to all 
men and tries to be all things to all men, 
and who keeps his heart free from all 
iniquity, comes nearest to the likeness of 
God. These things are of an exalted 
character and difficult to do, if we look 
to our own strength ; but to him that be- 
lieveth, all things are possible. 



69 



Part IL Those Things that per- 
tain TO THE Youth Himself. 

I. 

Now, after the youthful mind, which is 
to be established in virtue, has been 
rightly molded through faith, the youth 
should, in consequence of this, order well 
and adorn beautifully his own heart. 
Then, after he is rightly and well ordered 
within himself, he can also advise and 
assist other persons. 
/^ He cannot order his mind and prepare 
his heart better, however, than by en- 
gaging in the study of the Word of God, 
day and night. This he can do more skill- 
fully and advantageously, when he thor- 
oughly understands Hebrew and Greek ; 
for he will succeed very poorly in gain- 
ing a clear and exact knowledge of the 
Old Testament, without the aid of the 
former, and of the New Testament, with- 
out the aid of the latter. 

While we are instructing those who 
are well grounded in the elements of 



<^ 



70 

knowledge, I do not deem it proper to 
omit the study of the Latin language al- 
together, as this language is now being so 
generally used. Although it is less help- 
ful to a clear understanding of the Holy 
Scriptures than the Greek or the He- 
brew language, it is none the less useful 
for other purposes in active life. It often 
happens, too, that we come in contact 
with Latin scholars, in carrying on the 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Far be 
it from a Christian, however, to use the 
languages for mere pecuniary gain or 
pleasure ; for they are a gift of the Holy 
Ghost. 

The next language after the Latin, 
which we should endeavor to study, is 
the Greek. We should study it, as al- 
ready stated, for reading the New Testa- 
ment in the original ; for I take the lib- 
erty to say that, as I understand the mat- 
ter, it seems to me that the doctrines of 
Christ were not treated so carefully nor 
taught so purely from the beginning, by 
the Latin scholars, as they were, by the 



71 



Greek scholars. For this reason, let the 
youth be led to the original Gospel lan- 
guage. 

The student of the Latin and Greek 
languages must see to it that he keep his 
heart in faith and innocence ; for there 
are many things in these languages that 
have been studied to the detriment of the 
student, among which are wantonness, 
craftiness, a domineering and warlike 
spirit, useless and vain philosophy, and 
the like. If the mind be warned in due 
time, it can, like Ulysses, pass by these 
evils, untouched and unharmed. This 
will be the case, if the student, at the 
first warning of his conscience, says to 
himself : This you hear in order that you 
should take warning and flee from it, 
and not that you should accept it. 

The Hebrew language I place last, be- 
cause the use of the Latin is so general and 
the Greek naturally follows the Latin ; 
otherwise I should have given the Hebrew 
the first place, and justly, too, because any 
one who does not know the properties 



/' 



72 



and the peculiarities of this language 
will find it a difficult task, in many pas- 
sages, even among Greek scholars, to 
discover the real sense and natural mean- 
ing of the Scriptures. The object I have 
in view, however, is not to speak at 
great length of the languages. 
^ •■ With such preparation must he be 
equipped who would arrive at the inner 
meaning of this heavenly wisdom, to 
which no other can be compared, much 
less made equal. Let him, however, ap- 
proach it in a humble spirit and thirst- 
ing after righteousness. 

After he has penetrated thus far into 
the hidden things of God, he will find 
many examples to show him how to live 
righteously, first among which is Christ 
who is the complete and perfect pattern 
of all virtues. If he comes to know 
Christ fully, from the words and the 
works of the latter, he wall so accept 
Him that in all his works, councils, and 
business relations he will endeavor to 
give proof of Christ's virtues, as far as it 



17, 

is possible for man in his weakness and 
frailty to do. 

^ He will learn from Christ when to 
speak and when to be silent, each in its 
own time. He will be ashamed to speak, 
in his early youth, of those things which 
belong only to the conversation of men, 
when he learns that Christ did not begin 
to speak in public till he was thirty 
years old; therefore long after he had given 
proof of his mission, before the doctors in 
his twelfth year. Hence, rather than to 
put himself forward when he is very 
young, the youth will early seek to under- 
stand great things that are pleasing to 
God. 

Now, just as the greatest ornament to 
a woman is to be silent, so, also, nothing 
is more becoming to a youth than to try 
faithfully to be silent for a certain time, 
until not only the understanding but 
also the tongue, each for itself and 
both together, are trained and work 
harmoniously together. I do not mean 
that youths shall be silent five years, 



74 



as Pythagoras commanded his pupils ; 
but I would restrain them from be- 
ing too eager and hasty to speak, and 
unless it be to speak about useful or 
necessary matters, they should not speak 
at all. 
«^< If a youth is learning the art of ex- 
pression from his teacher and if the lat- 
ter has any defect or any disagreeable- 
ness in his speech, the youth should not 
imitate these unpleasant things in his 
teacher's speech. This hint is by no 
means to be regarded as being of little 
account ; for we learn from the writings 
of the ancients that some imitated their 
masters not only in errors of speech, but 
also in the awkward movements of the 
body. 
/^ Any person can easily recognize slow- 
ness of speech or a stammering tongue; 
but I want to call attention to the fact 
that errors are made in the enunciation 
of words and in the tones of the voice, 
not mentioning the artistic qualities of 
the latter, as this is not the place to 



75 

speak of them. These errors are made, 
when the speaker speaks too rapidly or 
too slowly, when his voice lacks force 
and its pitch is too low, when its force 
is too great and its pitch is too high, and 
when any speech whatsoever is delivered 
in a monotone and the visible expression 
is unchanged or otherwise not in accord- 
ance with the subject-matter of the speech. 
^ It has been observed that elephants, 
when they are by themselves, practice 
those things diligently, which they had 
failed to do before and had suffered pun- 
ishment on that account. So, also, should 
every youth see to it that he practices 
diligently and at frequent intervals, in 
chaste facial expression, and in gestures 
which are so graceful that he will never 
clumsily swing his arms as if he were 
rowing. 
/ These things he should regulate in 
such a manner that they serve the cause 
of truth instead of flattering his hearers ; 
for how can a Christian heart endure the 
lascivious manners of some persons ? I 



76 

have no other object in view, when I 
want a youth to refine his manners, 
than that every one may be led thereby 
to free himself from external rudeness or 
unbecoming manners ; because these are 
not uncertain signs of uncouthness or 
coarseness of character. 

/ 2^ Above all things the mind must be 
firm in the truth and unmoved by evil 
influences. If this be the case, it can 
easily overcome the wild or awkward 
movements of the body. For example, 
let the youth refrain from wrinkling his 
forehead, or making a wry face, or twist- 
ing his mouth, or shaking his head, or 
swinoinof his hands to and fro. On the 
other hand, let all his movements be so 
under control as to indicate plainness, 
simplicity, and graceful modesty. Let 
this suffice in regard to speaking and re- 
maining silent. 

/ 1 Arithmetic, surveying, and music, I 
think, no youth should neglect ; but he 
should not spend too much time on these 
studies. Although they are very valu- 



11 

able to every one who is skillful in their 
application and although he who never 
studies them suffers much from his ig- 
norance, yet no one should become old 
in studying them ; for if he does, he will 
not derive more benefit from them than 
does the man who walks back and forth 
simply to avoid being idle. 
11. 
Let every youth ilee from intemper- 
ance as he would from a poison ; for, in 
addition to the fact that it makes furious 
the body, which is of itself inclined to 
vehemence, it brings on premature old 
age ; because the body becomes disorder- 
ed from the beginning. From this it 
follows that, if the intemperate man be- 
comes old at all and believes that he will 
find rest in his latter days, he will be 
deceived and will find nothing but 
disease. For it can not be that he who 
has habituated himself to revel in wine 
does not, in the end, suffer from danger- 
ous diseases. I refer to epilepsy, paraly- 
sis, dropsy, leprosy, and the like. So, 



/^ 



78 



then, if you desire to be old a long time, 
become old [wise] early. 

One's food should be plain and simple ; 
for why should a youth, whose stomach 
is strong and always ready for digestion, 
need to eat partridges, fieldfares, wood- 
cocks, capons, venison, and like delica- 
cies? Let him rather put off eating 
these things until he is old, when his 
teeth will be worn down, his palate and 
throat hardened from long use, his stom- 
ach weakened, and his body deprived of 
its vigor. Then he will need such food. 
How can one attain to old age and sus- 
tain his strength during the same, if, as 
a high-spirited youth, one gives himself 
up to indulgence in those things which 
old men need for bodily sustenance and 
enjoyment? 

Hunger should simply be satisfied by 
eating, not driven away never to return. 
It is related of Galenus that he lived a 
hundred and twenty years, because he had 
never left the table, with his hunger satis- 
fied. I do not mean to say that you shall 



79 

starve yourself, but that you shall not 
becouie a slave to beastly appetite, 
against which life demands that you 
should struggle. I know very well that 
men sin by going to either extreme, 
namely, by becoming like wolves in 
ravenous appetite or by becoming unfit 
for work on account of being half starved. 

Nothing seems to me to be more fool- 
ish than to seek honor and praise, by 
wearing costly clothing. From such a 
point of view, the pope's asses could be 
respected and highly honored ; for if they 
are strong animals, they can carry more 
gold, silver, and precious stones than the 
strongest man. Who would not be 
ashamed of parading his costly clothing, 
when he hears that the Son of God and 
of the Virgin Mary cried in the manger, 
not having more swaddling-clothes 
around Him than the Virgin Mary car- 
ried with her, as she was not prepared 
for a birth in such a place. 

Those who put on strange or new 
clothing every day thereby show how 



J 



80 



fickle, or at least how effeminate and child- 
ish they are. Such persons do not be- 
long to Christ. While they thus clothe 
themselves in rare attire, they let the 
poor suffer from cold and hunger. For 
this reason a Christian should beware of 
foolishness and extravagance in dress, as 
well as of any other evil. 

When a youth begins to be fond of young 
ladies and falls in love with them, he 
should show how gallant and strong mind- 
ed he is. Just as daring young knights 
test their strength and their arms in war, 
so it behooves the Christian youth to ex- 
ert all his powers to overcome every temp- 
tation to foolish and imlawful love. If he 
nevertheless seeks the company of young 
ladies, let him beware of inordinate af- 
fection ; and he should select the com- 
pany of one whose manners and conduct 
he would be willing to endure through 
the varied scenes of wedlock. Let him 
pay attention to her, but his affectionate 
relation to her, as one chosen for mar- 
riage, must be pure and so true that, 



8i 



among all women, he will love no other. 

Why need I forbid a Christian youth 
to love money and worldly honor, since 
these evils are also condemned among 
the heathen ? No one who will serve 
covetousness will become a Christian, 
for this vice has not only ruined individ- 
ual characters, but also well fortified cities 
and powerful kingdoms. Covetousness 
will overthrow any government that 
comes under its sway. When this vice 
has taken possession of the mind, no good 
influence can affect it. Covetousness is 
a deadly poison and yet, sad to say, it 
has spread and has become very power- 
ful among us. Only through Christ can 
we destroy this vice within ourselves, 
and we can do it if we very diligently and 
unceasingly follow Him ; for what did He 
oppose more than this root of all evil ? 

The learning of chivalrous arts [ritter- 
licher Kuenste — Moerikofer] I do not 
condemn so strongly ; but if I did not 
see that some rich youths even shun ex- 
ercise and manual labor, through which 



-5^ 



82 



much good would accrue to common 
life, I should judge otherwise [i. e., should 
prefer manual labor to these arts. — Ful- 
da's Notes.]. It behooves a Christian, 
however, in so far as the common good 
and the peace of all will allow it, not to 
take up arms at all. Although David 
was not trained to use arms, yet the 
lyord God caused him to triumph over 
Goliath with a sling and He protected 
the unarmed Israelites from the over- 
whelming power of their enemies. In 
the same manner He will doubtless also 
help and protect us ; but if it should 
please Him to do otherwise. He would 
arm our hands and train them for the 
conflict. If a youth, however, desires to 
become skillful in handling arms, let his 
only object be to prepare himself to 
fight for his country and to shield those 
whom God calls upon him to protect. 

I would that all men, and particularly 
those who are set apart to preach the 
Gospel, felt as if they ought to live no- 
where else except in the ancient city of 



83 



Massilia, in which no one was received 
for citizenship, who had no trade which 
wonld enable him to make a living. 
Wherever we would carry out this 
thought, idleness, which is a fruitful 
source of all wantonness, would be driv- 
en away ; and our bodies would become 
much healthier, stronger, and better fit- 
ted to endure hardships. 



84 



Part III. How a Youth should act 

TOWARDS OTHER PERSONS. 

A free and noble youth should reflect 
on his duties to others, in the following 
manner : Christ suffered death in my 
stead and became my Savior ; therefore I 
should offer my services to the good of 
all men, and I must not suppose that I 
belong to myself but to my neighbor. 
I was not born in order that I should 
live for myself, but in order that I might 
become all things to all men. 

/ Every young man should, from ear- 

ly youth, strive after steadiness, faith- 
fulness, truth, faith, righteousness, and 
piety ; and he should diligently practice 
these things. With these he can serve, 
with fruitful results, the cause of Chris- 
tianity, society around him, and his 
country ; for he will be useful to the 
body politic as well as to the individu- 

^ al citizen. Those are weak-minded per- 
sons who are concerned only about liv- 
ing a quiet life. They are not so god- 



85 



like as those who, to their own detri- 
ment, diligently serve all men. 

We ought to be very careful, at the 
same time, that those things which we 
undertake to the glory of God, to the 
honor of our country, and for the com- 
mon welfare be not defiled by self and 
Satan, so that we do not, at last, turn to 
our own advantage what we wish to be 
regarded as having been done for the 
good of others. There are many who be- 
gin well and go in the right direction, but 
they soon become corrupted by vain am- 
bition, which poisons and destroys every 
good resolution, and as a result they 
are led away from all that is good and 
noble. 

One who is a Christian will look up- 
on the fortune or misfortune of others as if 
either one had happened to himself. If 
another person is fortunate, the Christian 
will rejoice as if good fortune had befal- 
len himself ; on the other hand, he will 
be sad when misfortune falls to the lot 
of another. The Christian will regard a 



86 



community as a household, yea, as one 
body in which all members enjoy pleas- 
ure or suffer pain. Such members will 
so assist one another that what happens 
to one will be regarded as happening to 
all. For this reason the Christian will 
rejoice with them that rejoice and weep 
with them that weep. Any event in the 
life of another he will regard as occur- 
ring in his own life ; for, as Seneca says, 
what happens to one person may happen 
to any other person. 
\J^^ A Christian youth should not so man- 
ifest joy or sadness as the common cus- 
tom is, however ; that is to say, he should 
not become proud and vain in prosperity, 
nor should he become impatient and fi- 
nally despair in adversity. Inasmuch 
as a Christian will not be able to pass 
through life without these and other 
temptations and trials, he will, if he be 
wise, so deliberately and discreetly con- 
trol them that he will at no time and in 
no place deviate from that which is be- 
coming and right. He will thus be as 



87 



glad when others are prosperous, as 
when he is prosperous; but he will 
not give way to despair when reverses 
come. In other words, he will en- 
dure all things calmly and with modera- 
tion. 
C I am not in favor of forbidding a youth 
to join the company of men and women 
assembled for innocent pleasure in pub- 
lic places. I refer to weddings of rela- 
tives, annual celebrations and festivals ; 
for I learn that even Christ did not refuse 
to be present at a wedding. Since peo- 
ple will have festive occasions, I very 
much prefer that they be held openly, in- 
stead of secretly or in suspicious homes. 
Some persons are so constituted that they 
are afraid to act in a crowd. They are 
very easily frightened, when a person 
who may bear testimony against them 
sees them act ; but when they act in secret, 
the accusing voice of conscience can 
scarcely frighten them. One must be a 
desperate rogue, a man from whom no 
good can be expected, if he is not ashamed 



88 



to act dishonorably in the presence of a 
public audience. 

S Where persons assemble in social gath- 
erings, every youth attending them 
should see to it that he go away morally 
benefited ; so that he may not, as Socrates 
complains, always come home morally 
worse than he was before. He should 
therefore be watchful and diligent to fol- 
low the example of those who conduct 
themselves honorably and uprightly on 
social occasions ; but, on the other hand, 
when he observes persons behaving them- 
selves unbecomingly or shamefully, let 
him beware of imitating them. 

^ Those, however, who are grown up and 
have become bold and fixed in their habits 
are hardly able to restrain themselves in 
this manner ; therefore my advice is, that 
the youth should attend public gather- 
ings, for social purposes, all the more 
rarely. Should a youth perchance be led 
into the folly of others, he ought by all 
means to turn away from it and should 
come to himself at the earliest moment. 



His reason for thus withdrawing from 
such association will satisfy those persons 
who know that his desire is, always to be 
intent on doing what is noblest and best. 
^^ When a neighbor is in trouble, we 
should at once visit him. In such cases 
it is, indeed, becoming for us to be first 
to go to his rescue and last to leave him. 
We should exert ourselves manfully in 
his behalf, by investigating the harm 
done, by doing something to rem^ove hin- 
drances, and by rendering any other as- 
sistance or giving advice. 

Next to God we should honor and 
highly esteem our parents. This practice 
is also prevalent among the heathen as 
well as among unbelievers. Our will 
should yield to that of our parents, every- 
where ; and if they sometimes do not live 
up to the commands of our Savior, we, as 
believers in Christ, should not rashly op- 
pose them ; but we should rather explain 
to them, very kindly, what one ought to 
do or say. Should they be unwilling to 
accept such explanations, we ought to 



90 

let them go rather than insult them with 
reproach or derision. 

y/ Anger, as physicians say, comes from 
a hasty temper. Since the young are very 
passionate, every youth should diligent- 
ly refrain from becoming angry, so that 
he will neither say nor do anything that 
is prompted by anger. While anger lasts, 
let every thing that comes to the mind 
be looked upon with suspicion. 

y-^ If, at any time, we can not accept and 
bear injustice or insults heaped upon us, 
because it seems to us too much to be en- 
dured, we should bring the matter be- 
fore the magistrate or any other proper 
government officer. To return a re- 
proachful remark for an insult or to 
abuse again, when we are abused, is noth- 
ing else than to become like him whom 
we thus treat. 
y'r Games played with one's companions, 
at proper times, I allow, provided they 
are games that require skill and serve to 
train the body. Games with numbers 
require skill, as they involve a knowl- 



/f 



91 

edge of arithmetic. Games requiring 
movement, such as chess, also require 
skill ; since one must carefully plan when 
and where to move, and when not to 
move. Chess, more than all other games, 
teaches the player not to take a single 
step without forethought. It is necessary, 
however, in playing this game to know 
when to quit ; for some persons have 
been found, who neglected useful and se- 
rious occupations, in order to give their 
time and talents to playing chess. Only 
occasionally and, as it were, in passing by, 
would I allow such games. Cards and 
dice I reject entirely and would consign 
them to the carrion-pit. 

The plays and games which exercise 
the body are running, jumping, stone- 
throwing or putting the shot, wrestling, 
and the like. Nearly all nations engage 
in them ; and among our Swiss ancestors 
they have been very popular, and they 
may be regarded as very useful for some 
purposes. Wrestling is an exercise in 
which the youth should engage very cau- 



92 

tiously and not too often ; for some have 
made earnest of the exercise and have 
turned it into a fight. I have not yet seen 
much benefit derived from swimming, al- 
though it is sometimes good sport to 
stretch out one's limbs in the water and to 
move like a fish. Swimming has been use- 
ful, it is true, in a few cases. As examples 
I may mention the one who swam from 
the Capitol and announced to Camillus 
the miserable condition of the avaricious 
city of Rome. Cloelia also swam back to 
her friends at Rome. 
^ f All our walk and conversation should 
be such that those with whom we live 
will be benefited thereby. If it be neces- 
sary at any time to reprove or puuish any 
one, let it be done so pleasantly, so 
thoughtfully, so skillfully, and with such 
judgment that we shall be enabled to 
drive away the evil, and shall win back 
the person and draw him more closely to 
ourselves. 
y y We ought to be so diligent and firm in 
standing by the truth, that we not only 



93 

weigh our own words but also the words 
of all other persons, in such a manner 
that no deception, no lie can be concealed 
therein. A candid mind should never be 
more displeased with itself than it is, 
when it finds itself giving utterance 
to a lie, even under oppression and 
therefore unwillingly ; and I need not say 
that a youth should be not a little fright- 
ened and ashamed, were he to observe 
that he willfully gives utterance to light, 
untruthful language, whether such lan- 
guage be imitated from other persons or 
whether it be his own invention. A man 
who is a Christian is commanded to 
speak the truth to his neighbor ; there- 
fore one who is a Christian should stand 
firmly by the truth, A double-minded 
man is unstable in all his ways. He 
who does not stand by his word or is 
untruthful, is not to be trusted. The 
words uttered by the mouth intimate 
what is in the heart. If the words 
are frivolous and deceitful we have a 
sure sign that the heart is worse than 



94 

the words. Such a person may conceal 
his deceitfulness for a short time, but it 
will be discovered by and by. How fool- 
ish is the man who knows very well that 
he lies, but imagines that he is so much 
better than he really is, because no one 
else knows that he is a liar ! 

y y Men ought to be truthful not only in 
words but also in all their actions, never 
pretending to be what they are not, nor 
falsely representing any thing in their 
dealings. As the heart, the spring of ac- 
tion is, so should the countenance, the 
eyes, and all one's manner be. He who 
feigns the gait of another thereby dis- 
closes the fact that his step does not cor- 
respond to his character ; in other words, 
that his heart is unchaste and frivolous. 

-^.. What more shall I say ? Let every 
youth diligently see to it that he drinks 
from the clear and pure fountain of life, 
which is the Lord Jesus Christ. He who 
does this will be shown by Christ how to 
live, how to speak, and how to act. He 
will no more regard himself above exer- 



95 

cising piety and doing right ; he will 
never despair. He will grow in grace 
daily ; nevertheless he will observe that 
he often fails and falters. In this way 
he will make rapid progress, but he will 
still count himself among the most un- 
worthy. He will do good to all men 
and will revile no one ; for thus did 
Christ set an example. Hence, he will 
be perfect who undertakes diligently to 
follow Christ only. 

Conclusion. 

These things, my dear Gerald, I have 
regarded as helpful to instruct and train 
good and noble youth ; although my 
thoughts, as every one can plainly see, 
are very much disconnected and lack 
methodical arrangement. 

Let your own mind, however, dwell on 
these things. Carry out and improve, 
in your manner of living, what I have 
here outlined and roughly worked out. If 
you do this, you will, indeed, beautifully 
weave into your own life what I have 



96 



here written without good order, and you 
will thus be a living example of the mod- 
el which I have herein placed before you. 
Yes, I dare say that, if you practice these 
things, you can not fail to become much 
more refined, cultured, and more nearly 
perfect than I have been able to outline 
for you. 

It will be necessary, however, for you 
to go to work vigorously and to strain 
every nerve. This will help you very 
much to drive away indolence, the moth- 
er of all vice ; for many persons, having 
formed habits of laziness, in early youth, 
soon become so shamefully indolent that 
they loiter about, as if they purposely 
wanted to be devourers of other persons' 
goods, or even cess-pools of all vices. 
<^ You, on the other hand, devote the 
spring-time of your life to that which is 
good and useful, because time passes 
rapidly and better opportunities seldom 
present themselves in later years. No 
time of life is more promising for doing 
good than youth. Not the man who can 



97 



only talk much about God is a Christian, 
but he who labors faithfully with God to 
do great and holy things ; therefore, my 
pious and noble youth, continue to lift 
up and adorn your noble family, your 
handsome person, and your patrimony — 
all advantages that you enjoy — with these 
true ornaments. 

I have said less than I ought to say. 
Regard nothing as a true ornament but 
virtue, piety, and honor. Nobility, beau- 
ty, and riches are not intrinsic good, but 
they are conditioned by good fortune. 

May God preserve you blameless by 
his grace, so that you may never be sep- 
arated from Him. Amen. 



98 



NOTES. 

Words in brackets are inserted by the translator 
to explain the text or to quote authorities. 

Page 45. The gymnasium was really only an 
important part of the Carolinum. The sick were 
also visited and other pastoral duties were per- 
formed. 

Pages 70 and 71. Fulda's opinion is that Zwingli 
did not intend to contrast the Latin with the Greek 
scholars, but the Vulgate with the original text. 

Page 78. Zwingli, in his peculiar way, strikes at 
a leading cause of dyspepsia, with its train of phys- 
ical, social, and moral disorders. Epicures still 
exist, even among professing Christians. How sin- 
ful it is to boast of how much of a dainty dish one 
can eat ! Ecclesiasticus 37 : 29-31. 

Page 83. Massilia, now Marseilles, as a Greek 
colony had strict laws. Valerius Maximus II., 6, 
hints at Zwingli's thought. — Fiilda. 

Page 92. The one who swam from the Capitol 
was Pontius Cominius, as Plutarch says in volume 
one, page 115. A reference to Smith's Classical 
Dictionary, page 214, will show that Zwingli was 
correct in regard to Cloelia's act. 

Page 97. Gerald Meyer descended from a noble 
family and Zwingli was concerned in preserving 
him from the corrupt habits of the nobility of that 
time, by teaching him how to be noble at heart. 



99 



INDEX. 



Ambition 85 Folly of youth ... 88 

Ammaiin, Jacob . . 47 Food, plain .... 78 

Anger 90 Fulda, Rev. K. 11, 14, 43 

Appetite ... 79, 98 

Art of expression , . 74 Qalenus 78 

Games 90 

Basel . 21, 22, 27, 29, 39 Gerald (see, also, 

Believers in Christ . 67 Meyer) 52 

Bern .... 23, 25 German 48 

Bible . . 28, 31, 46, 69 Glarean . . 26, 39, 53 

Binzli . . . . 21, 23 Glarus 26, 29, 30, 31, 34 

Gospel . 35, 61, 63, 65, 67 

Cappel . . . 10, 51 Greek, study of 33, 69, 70 

Carolinum . 45, 47, 98 Gymnasium . 15, 45, 98 
Ceporin . .10, 15, 47 

Chess, cards, dice . . 91 Hebrew 36, 47, 48, 69, 71 

Christ . 29, 63, 87, 94, 95 Help in trouble . . 89 

Christian 82, 85, 86, 96, 97 Holiness 62 

Cloelia .... 92, 98 Honest dealing . . 94 

Collin, R 47 Honoring parents . . 89 

Cominius, Pontius . 98 Humanism . 24, 28, 44 

Courtship .... 80 

Covetousness. . . .81 Imitating conduct . . 88 

Indolence .... 96 

Deception . . 93, 94 Intemperance . . .77 

Degrees, literary . . 28 Israel, Director . 7, 8 
Doing good in youth . 96 

Dress .... 79, 80 Jud, Leo ... 47, 48 
Duties . . . 57, 69, 84 

Latin, letter in, 39 ; study 

Einsiedeln .... 34 of, 22, 24, 25, 49, 70, 71 ; 

Erasmus ... 34, 50 Zwingli teaches, 27, 30 

Exegesis ... 46, 47 Library, Zurich . .16 

Exercise . . . . .91 Likeness of God . . 68 

Faith . 57, 63, 66, 71, 84 Manners 76 

Festive occasions . . 87 Marriage, Zwingli's . 40 



lOO 



Massilia ... 83, 98 Social gatherings . . 88 
Mathematics . 76, 91 Spirit of God . 57, 67 
Megander . . 47, 48 Staehelin, Professor . 7 
Meyer, Gerald, 10, 26, 38, Studies, Zwingli's 26, 27 
41, 52 ; John, 37 Submission to parents 89 

Moerikofer .... 43 

Music ... 22, 24, 76 Testament, New, 15, 34, 
Myconius . 24, 34, 47 47 ; Old, 47 

Theology . . . 27, 45 
Nepos, Jacob ... 39 Translation, Israel's 
Nobility 97 reprint .... 7 

Trade, a 83 

Oecolampadius ... 34 Treatise, written, 41, 54; 
Oratory ... 35, 74 Latin, 6, 10, 12 ; Zurich 
Ornaments, true . . 97 dialect ; 7, 12 ; South 

German, 7, 11, 12, 14 ; 
Pedagogy .... 43 first English, 9 ; for Ger- 
Pellican ... 47, 48 aid, 52 ; parts, 55, 57, 
Philosophy .... 27 69, 84 

Piety 84 Trust 59 

Prayer 60 Truthfulness ... 92 

Preface, 5 ; Israel's . 10 Tschudi . . . .31,32 

Prophecy 45 

Providence .... 59 Universities 21, 25, 26, 27 
Prosperity of others . 87 

Vulgate 98 

Reformation . 28, 36, 50 

Reinhardt, Anna . . 37 Weddings .... 87 
Rejoice with others . 85 Wildhaus . . 18, 20, 27 
Reproof, gentle, . . 92 Wittenbach ". . 28 

Riches 97 Woelflin . . .23, 24, 27 

Works on Zwingli . 8, 9 
Salary of professors . 48 

Scholasticism . 28, 44 Zwingli, born, 18 ; educa- 
School-days, Zwingli's 29 ted, 22, 25, 27 ; at Zu- 
School of theology 45, 48 rich, 35 ; wrote without 
Selfishness .... 85 pay, 44 ; Head-master, 
Septuagint .... 48 45 ; powers of endur- 
Serving others . 84, 86 ance, 50 ; sketch of life, 
Sin ... 61, 64, 65, 71 17 ; death, 51 



J/;N 1. 



iJ-iO 



